Once again, the finest short-form sf offerings of the year have been collected in a single volume. With "Year's Best SF 17, " acclaimed, award-winning editors and anthologists David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer demonstrate the amazing depth and power of contemporary speculative fiction, showcasing astonishing stories from some of the genre's most respected names as wellOnce again, the finest short-form sf offerings of the year have been collected in a single volume. With "Year's Best SF 17, " acclaimed, award-winning editors and anthologists David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer demonstrate the amazing depth and power of contemporary speculative fiction, showcasing astonishing stories from some of the genre's most respected names as well as exciting new writers to watch. Prepare to travel light years from the ordinary into a tomorrow at once breathtaking, frightening, and possible, with tales of wonder from: Elizabeth Bear Gregory Benford Neil Gaiman Nancy Kress Michael Swanwick and others.

Community Reviews

Great stories, and not a clunker in the bunch! Some stronger than others, but that's normal with every anthology, even a "Best of". Far too many stories had themes of environmental catastrophe, or mentioned it anyway, for my taste. But I only skipped the one story that seemed to be focused on that.

** The Best Science Fiction of the Year Three • Ken MacLeod In a totalitarian future, an editor purports to be seeking contributions to a new anthology. But why is he doing this at the very public launch of a new experimental technology? Eh, this one didn't really come together for me. A bit too gimmicky, and the ending didn't convince...

*** Dolly • Elizabeth BearAn experimental model of sex doll is suspected of having killed its (her?) owner. (view spoiler)[I wasn't really convinced by the narr** The Best Science Fiction of the Year Three • Ken MacLeod In a totalitarian future, an editor purports to be seeking contributions to a new anthology. But why is he doing this at the very public launch of a new experimental technology? Eh, this one didn't really come together for me. A bit too gimmicky, and the ending didn't convince...

*** Dolly • Elizabeth BearAn experimental model of sex doll is suspected of having killed its (her?) owner. (view spoiler)[I wasn't really convinced by the narrative that the killing was justified even if the robot was sentient, but the story was redeemed from preachiness by the complication of having the female investigator own her own robot. (hide spoiler)]

*** Altogether Elsewhere, Vast Herds of Reindeer • Ken LiuPost-singularity, a young girl cannot conceive of why her mother might value the concept of physical 'reality' over virtual explorations. But in a memorable last day together, there is bittersweet communication.

**** Tethered • Mercurio RiveraA human girl and an alien girl are best friends, growing up together. But as they both mature, the differences between species separate them... but are the differences really so different? A nice exploration of the meaning of friendship and personal identity. Again, very bittersweet.

*** Wahala • Nnedi OkoraforA space shuttle, returning from Mars after 40 years, crash lands into a post-war desert. There to meet them are only two mutant children, expecting to meet human colonists. But what they find is stranger than either of them expected to find. A story of conflict, fear, and hope for understanding.

**** Laika’s Ghost • Karl SchroederLots of fun, semi-satirical stuff jammed into this tale of a near-future arms inspector investigating rumors of a new kind of super-explosive, accompanied by a young American refugee fleeing Google, The Soviet Union Online, and who knows who else... Apparently there are more stories about Agent Gennady - I must read them.

*** Ragnarok • Paul ParkA post-apocalyptic poem, set in Iceland, in the form of an Edda... better than I expected.

** Six Months, Three Days • Charlie Jane AndersTwo clairvoyants start dating. She believes that she has free will, choosing between the many possible futures she sees. He believes that everything is predestined, seeing only one future. Both of them are really annoying people, and I didn't care about their relationship.

*** And Weep Like Alexander • Neil GaimanA rather slight, but amusing story. A man walks into a bar and announces that he is an "uninventor." Humanity has been saved from many seemingly good ideas that turned out to be more annoying than expected - such as flying cars. But is there anything left for him to uninvent?

*** The Middle of Somewhere • Judith MoffettNot so much a story as an educational piece regarding the effects of global warming. Sure, it's set in (possibly) the near future - although it might be the present - but it's certainly not science fiction. A teen girl from a religious family of climate-deniers survives a tornado in the company of a self-sufficient elderly woman.

** Mercies • Gregory BenfordAfter learning about serial killers in school, a boy of the peaceful future develops a time travel technique and, at the end of his life, sets out to go back in time and eliminate history's worst killers before they have a chance to commit their evil deeds. The ending wasn't as powerful as I believe the author meant it to be.

** The Education of Junior Number 12 • Madeline AshbyIn the future, self-replicating robots are quickly proliferating. They love humans, and will self0destrunt at the thought of anti-human violence. Their existence seems on the verge of changing human relationships, but their ways are alien to us.

** Our Candidate • Robert ReedA popular political candidate offers the doomsaying underdog a deal. And it turns out that politicians can be real jerks. (No, say it isn't so!) The ending felt a bit forced, and didn't have the expected punch.

**** Thick Water • Karen HeulerNice sci-fi/horror story. A 4-person team has landed on an alien planet for scientific observations. But only one of the scientists observes the safety protocols - and the results are quite satisfyingly creepy.

*** The War Artist • Tony BallantyneThe war artist's job is to observe, and create suitably inspiring pieces of propaganda to sway public opinion. It takes a pretty woman to make him reassess his job. Nicely cynical.

*** The Master of the Aviary • Bruce SterlingA dark and cynical tale of a post-apocalyptic future, and an 'academic' who hearkens back to the glories of the past, in the face of general indifference and political opposition.

** Home Sweet Bi’Ome • Pat MacEwanI have to admit, humor is often a hard sell, with me. Not that I don't like humor, but... This story of a woman with Hyperallergic Syndrome and her tribulations, with a dash of romance was ok... but just not really my thing.

**** For I Have Lain Me Down on the Stone of Loneliness and I’ll Not Be Back Again • Michael SwanwickWith a one-way trip out to pursue a career amongst aliens and the stars imminent, a man decides to take a final trip to experience Earth and history, and visits Ireland. There, he meets a beautiful woman who seduces him - but who has more on her agenda than sex. Good story. Satisfying ending.

*** The Ki-anna • Gwyneth JonesA man travels to an alien planet to investigate the death of his twin sister. He suspects it was murder, although, officially, it's been called an accident. The story is a decent mystery tale, but I feel like it missed some opportunities to delve deeper into the issues it brings up regarding cultural differences.

* Eliot Wrote • Nancy KressSorry, really didn't like this one. Clunky story about metaphor and the conflict between science and mystical thinking. All the characters were awkward caricatures, and none of them were convincing, either from a narrative or an ideological perspective.

*** The Nearest Thing • Genevieve ValentinePretty good entry into the genre of "advanced robots: are they really sentient?" Very, very similar in theme to the Elizabeth Bear piece that appears earlier in this volume.

** The Vector Alphabet of Interstellar Travel • Yoon Ha LeeThis reads like notes for a story, not a story. It's a series of paragraphs, each describing an alien race or situation. Nice writing, but it doesn't feel like a finished work.

*** The Ice Owl • Carolyn Ives GilmanSecond reading of this story. (Previously read in Nebula Awards Showcase.) I'd really like to read more by Gilman; I love her style - but I still had issues with this story. --- Sets up a very nicely done world and situation: a rebellious teenage girl and her flaky, irresponsible mother, flitting around known planets at lightspeed after a political disturbance/genocide analogous to the Holocaust. (It's called the Holocide, and there's even looted art.) However, the ending is completely unsatisfying, feels rushed, and falls flat. It's one of those where you get the feeling that the author feels like you ought to think her characters made the right decisions - but they clearly didn't, nor does it work from a dramatic perspective.

2.78 average rounds up to 3.Just as a note, it's funny how much editorial decisions affect the 'Best of's... I haven't read the corresponding anthology from Strahan for this year yet, but I feel like I like his choices better, in general......more

Generally too long--too many stories--I no longer remember the first third of the book, probably, though I only read it over the course of a month. I should have taken more notes while reading this (like which authors or stories I liked and disliked), but that's hard to do with something I just want to pick up for a few minutes at a time (my typical usage case for a short story collection)

Of the few notes I did write down, I particularly liked 'For I Have Lain Me Down' by Michael Swanwick, 'TheGenerally too long--too many stories--I no longer remember the first third of the book, probably, though I only read it over the course of a month. I should have taken more notes while reading this (like which authors or stories I liked and disliked), but that's hard to do with something I just want to pick up for a few minutes at a time (my typical usage case for a short story collection)

Of the few notes I did write down, I particularly liked 'For I Have Lain Me Down' by Michael Swanwick, 'The Nearest Thing' by Genevieve Valentine, and 'The Ice Owl' by Carolyn Ives Gilman (good story to end the collection on!). Several stories had obviously popular tropes and jokes that I'm not thinking will necessarily transfer well to being read in another era (please keep in mind I like to read science fiction from the 50s and 60s; themselves certainly hit-or-miss on dated-ness)--but already in the first story I didn't like the cute references to 'now'ish events--I'm not reading science fiction for the strict adherence to today/now/reality...

I was looking to see what near-current (2011 stories read in early 2015) science fiction was like. I liked the introductions, but I think the selection could have been culled a little more, or perhaps split into subgenres so I would know which 10-12 to focus on. I'll probably read similar books to this (and certainly older ones!), but this particular series is likely going to be too large and unfocused for me to try again....more

On the whole, an enjoyable collection. Lots of "doll" stories in this one - probably reflecting interest in transhumanism. As with any collection, though, I like some better than others. My top 3:

Tethered - a beautiful, emotional story about friendship between a human and an alien with a genetic predisposition to want to serve humans.

The Education of Junior Number 12. My favorite of the "doll"-type stories. Like you'd expect of any story of this type, it explores the relationship between the andOn the whole, an enjoyable collection. Lots of "doll" stories in this one - probably reflecting interest in transhumanism. As with any collection, though, I like some better than others. My top 3:

Tethered - a beautiful, emotional story about friendship between a human and an alien with a genetic predisposition to want to serve humans.

The Education of Junior Number 12. My favorite of the "doll"-type stories. Like you'd expect of any story of this type, it explores the relationship between the android (in this universe called vNs) and human.

Ice Owl - I'm not sure whether this is more a coming of age story or a story about guilt and forgiveness. Perhaps it's both.

All of these had well developed worlds that went beyond what you could see in the story itself, and were enjoyable reads - as were most of the stories in he collection....more

A collection of short stories published in 2011, chosen as the best by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer.

As usual, it's a mixed bag. While none completely left me cold, save perhaps Paul Pope's "Ragnarok" (but that's in large part because it's written as poetry), I didn't find any standouts that blew me away, either. Most of them were mildly pleasing, and a few I'd already read, so their impact wasn't as good as it may have been. I've liked other Years Best volumes more even when they had stoA collection of short stories published in 2011, chosen as the best by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer.

As usual, it's a mixed bag. While none completely left me cold, save perhaps Paul Pope's "Ragnarok" (but that's in large part because it's written as poetry), I didn't find any standouts that blew me away, either. Most of them were mildly pleasing, and a few I'd already read, so their impact wasn't as good as it may have been. I've liked other Years Best volumes more even when they had stories I absolutely hated, just because there was something really memorable along for the ride.

If I had to choose, my favorites would be "The Education of Junior Number Twelve" by Madeline Ashby and "Altogether Elsewhere, Vast Fields of Reindeer" by Ken Liu....more

I think Year’s Best SF 17 to be one of the strongest collection in the series. The plurality of the stories contained in it are some of the most remarkable I’ve read from these periodicals. Most of the stories seemed well lengthed and paced (a notable exception to this was The Ice Owl, one of my least favorite stories in the book), were founded on interesting ideas, and were well executed in their literary aspect. I especially enjoyed the stories by Ken Liu, Karen Heuler, and Pat MacEwen. TheI think Year’s Best SF 17 to be one of the strongest collection in the series. The plurality of the stories contained in it are some of the most remarkable I’ve read from these periodicals. Most of the stories seemed well lengthed and paced (a notable exception to this was The Ice Owl, one of my least favorite stories in the book), were founded on interesting ideas, and were well executed in their literary aspect. I especially enjoyed the stories by Ken Liu, Karen Heuler, and Pat MacEwen. The Neil Gaiman work included was also remarkably entertaining. ...more

Not as much overlap with the Dozois collection as some years. I suppose my favorite stories would be the ones that overlapped with Dozois, "Dolly" by Bear, "Laika's Ghost" by Schroeder, and Gilman's "The Ice Owl". Of the remainder, Gwyneth Jones' "The Ki-anna" and Genevieve Valentine's "The Nearest Thing" stood out. Not a collection that I regret having read but not particularly memorable either.

I usually love these anthologies, especially to take along when I'm traveling, but either my taste or the editors' (or their choices...) has changed. However, I did enjoy the stories by Ken Liu, Neil Gaiman, and Yoon Ha Lee.

David Geddes Hartwell was an American editor of science fiction and fantasy. He worked for Signet (1971-1973), Berkley Putnam (1973-1978), Pocket (where he founded the Timescape imprint, 1978-1983, and created the Pocket Books Star Trek publishing line), and Tor (where he spearheaded Tor's Canadian publishing initiative, and was also influential in bringing many Australian writers to the USDavid Geddes Hartwell was an American editor of science fiction and fantasy. He worked for Signet (1971-1973), Berkley Putnam (1973-1978), Pocket (where he founded the Timescape imprint, 1978-1983, and created the Pocket Books Star Trek publishing line), and Tor (where he spearheaded Tor's Canadian publishing initiative, and was also influential in bringing many Australian writers to the US market, 1984-date), and has published numerous anthologies. He chaired the board of directors of the World Fantasy Convention and, with Gordon Van Gelder, was the administrator of the Philip K. Dick Award. He held a Ph.D. in comparative medieval literature.

He lived in Pleasantville, New York with his wife Kathryn Cramer and their two children....more